page_title: Battle of Amsteg
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Amsteg / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: This map was created from "Reliefkarte Uri.png". The positions of the French and Austrian armies were added to the map.
context_page_description: The Battle of Amsteg saw a Republican French division under General of Division Claude Lecourbe face a brigade of Habsburg Austrian soldiers led by General-major Joseph Anton von Simbschen. Lecourbe's offensive began on 14 August when six columns of French infantry advanced on the upper Reuss valley from the north and east. By 16 August, Lecourbe's forces had driven Simbschen's Austrians from the valley and seized control of the strategic Gotthard Pass between Italy and Switzerland.
  On 4 June, the First Battle of Zurich was fought between André Masséna's French Army of Helvetia and an Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. After the battle, Massena relinquished Zürich and retreated to a strong defensive position to the west of the city. At about the same time, the French commander ordered Lecourbe to abandon the Gotthard Pass and pull back to Lucerne. In August, Masséna had second thoughts and wanted Lecourbe to recapture the Gotthard Pass. The French commander feared an Austro-Russian stroke from Italy across the pass, so he ordered an offensive to occupy the area. Louis Marie Turreau's division advanced northeast from the Canton of Valais in support of Lecourbe.
context_section_description: Masséna decided that recapturing the Gotthard Pass would protect his strategic rear and open communications with the French Army of Italy. He probably had no inkling that Suvorov would soon cross the Gotthard Pass, but he knew it was possible that Bellegarde's corps might try it. A thrust north over the pass, then west across the Furka Pass and then north again across the Grimsel Pass would place an Allied force in the upper Aare valley and in a position to hit Masséna's rear. To guard against this eventuality, Masséna ordered Lecourbe to seize this critical terrain. Lecourbe had 10,000 troops and his campaign lasted from 14–16 August 1799. 
  Lecourbe's division was organized in three brigades under Charles-Étienne Gudin, Jacques Denis Boivin, and Loison. Boivin's brigade consisted of the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 84th Line Infantry Demi-brigade and three battalions of the 109th Line Demi-brigade. Loison's brigade included two battalions each of the 36th and 38th Line and three battalions of the 76th Line. This source credited Lecourbe with 12,000 troops. Simbschen's brigade counted 4,400 soldiers and was made up of two battalions of the Kerpen Infantry Regiment Nr. 49, the 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment Nr. 62, two squadrons of the Modena Dragoon Regiment Nr. 5, and one battalion each of the Neugebauer Infantry Regiment Nr. 46, Gradiskaner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 8, and Deutsch-Banater Grenz Nr. 12. 
  Lecourbe divided his division into six columns. The first column was his left brigade under Boivin which struck southeast through Steinen and Seewen toward Schwyz and Muotathal. In the Battle of Schwyz on 14 August, the French drove the Austrians from the town. The French lost 28 killed and 140 wounded. They claimed that the Austrians lost 195 killed and 610 wounded, plus 1,000 soldiers and five guns captured. The author found the losses exaggerated. The French sacked the town after the battle. Lecourbe personally accompanied the second column which boated across Lake Lucerne and landed at Flüelen at the head of the upper Reuss valley. Eight grenadier companies conducted this amphibious operation. As Lecourbe advanced south, the flanking columns joined him one by one as they came through the mountain passes from the west.
  The third column marched along the western shore of Lake Lucerne through Bauen and the Isenthal, meeting Lecourbe at Seedorf. The fourth column hiked across the Surenen Pass to reach Erstfeld in the Reuss valley. The fifth column marched from Gadmen across the Susten Pass to Wassen. In the face of this advance, Simbschen withdrew south to the Devil's Bridge where he broke the arch and held his ground. Farther to the west, Gudin's right brigade formed the sixth column which moved south up the Aare valley. According to historian Digby Smith, Gudin's 2,400-strong brigade consisted of the 25th Light Infantry Demi-brigade and a Swiss battalion. Though the Austrian position at Grimsel Pass was very strong, the French surprised their adversaries by taking them in flank. Strauch's 2,600 troops were hustled out of their defenses with heavy losses, especially in the Neugebauer Infantry Regiment Nr. 46. Other Austrian units that were engaged were the Deutsch-Banater Nr. 12 and Warasdiner-St. George Nr. 6 Grenz Infantry Regiments, Wallis Infantry Regiment Nr. 11, Siegenfeld Light Infantry Battalion Nr. 10, Carneville Freikorps, and one squadron of the Erdody Hussar Regiment Nr. 9. The French claimed to have killed and wounded 400 men and captured 500 more, while admitting 60 casualties. An Allied source estimated losses at 200 killed and wounded plus 500 captured.
  Turreau's division advanced northeast up the Rhône valley, driving elements of Strauch's brigade before it. Turreau met Gudin's troops at the southern outlet of Grimsel Pass. Caught between the two French forces, Strauch's survivors retreated into Italy via the Nufenen Pass. Turreau then took control of the Grimsel Pass. Historian Ramsay Weston Phipps noted that Turreau is often confused with Tharreau in the histories. In fact, command of the Vala
caption: Battle of Amsteg, 14-16 Aug. 1799
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